Saturday of the Fifth Week of EasterLectionary: 290

Reading 1ACTS 16:1-10

Paul reached also Derbe and Lystrawhere there was a disciple named Timothy,the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,but his father was a Greek.The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,and Paul wanted him to come along with him.On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,for they all knew that his father was a Greek.As they traveled from city to city,they handed on to the people for observance the decisionsreached by the Apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.Day after day the churches grew stronger in faithand increased in number.

They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territorybecause they had been prevented by the Holy Spiritfrom preaching the message in the province of Asia.When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia,but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them,so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.During the night Paul had a vision.A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words,“Come over to Macedonia and help us.”When he had seen the vision,we sought passage to Macedonia at once,concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.

Responsorial PsalmPS 100:1B-2, 3, 5

R. (2a) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;serve the LORD with gladness;come before him with joyful song.R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.Know that the LORD is God;he made us, his we are;his people, the flock he tends.R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.The LORD is good:his kindness endures forever,and his faithfulness, to all generations.R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.or:R. Alleluia.

AlleluiaCOL 3:1

R. Alleluia, alleluia.If then you were raised with Christ,seek what is above,where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelJN 15:18-21

Jesus said to his disciples:“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;but because you do not belong to the world,and I have chosen you out of the world,the world hates you.Remember the word I spoke to you,‘No slave is greater than his master.’If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,because they do not know the one who sent me.”

Joseph of Nazareth (2000) "Gli amici di Gesù - Giuseppe di Nazareth" (original title) TV Movie - 90 min - Drama - 29 April 2001 (USA) The people of Jerusalem are suffering under the reign of HEROD, and are hoping to be delivered from the Roman occupiers by the Messiah whose arrival, it is rumored, is to take place very soon. The 35-year-old widower is not interested in participating in any fighting against the Romans. Joseph gets a visit from JOACHIM and ANNA, asking him to marry their unprotected 14-year-old daughter MARY. Joseph agrees, but promises to preserve her chastity. Nevertheless, one day Mary tells him, in Anna's presence, that she is pregnant. Believing in this immaculate conception is very difficult for Joseph, as is the message that her son JESUS will end the reign of Herod, which is announced to him in a vision. Their son is born in a Bethlehem cattle shed and heralded as the new Messiah by the Three Magi. King Herod also finds out about the rumor, and decides to kill all of Bethlehem's firstborn. Joseph and Mary escape to Egypt.Directors: Raffaele Mertes, Elisabetta Marchetti Writers: Gareth Jones, Gianmario Pagano (story) Stars: Tobias Moretti, Stefania Rivi, Massimo Reale |

Marie de l'Incarnation, née Marie Guyart, founder of the Ursuline order in Canada, mystic, author (born 28 October 1599 in Tours, France; died 30 April 1672 in Québec). With two Ursulines and Madame de la Peltrie, Marie landed at Québec 1 August 1639 and established a convent in the lower town (courtesy Library and Archives Canada). Marie de l'Incarnation, née Marie Guyart, founder of the Ursuline order in Canada, mystic, author (born 28 October 1599 in Tours, France; died 30 April 1672 in Québec). Life in France and Spiritual VocationAs a child, Marie Guyart, daughter of a master baker, showed unusual spirituality. Her husband, Claude Martin, died in 1619 after two years of marriage, leaving her with a six-month-old son and a bankrupt business. Urged to remarry, she withdrew into secluded meditation and prayer and on 24 March 1620 experienced a mystical and emotional "conversion." She decided to withdraw from the world, but her sister and brother-in-law called on her to help their failing carrier business. Under Marie the business prospered but visions continued to haunt her.Founder of the Ursuline Order in CanadaIn 1632, though heartbroken at leaving her son, she entered the Ursuline cloister at Tours. She took her vows in 1633 and taught Christian doctrine for six years. From her reading of the Relations des Jésuites and her visions, she concluded that her vocation was in Canada. With two Ursulines and Mme de la Peltrie, she landed at Québec on 1 August 1639 and established a convent in the lower town. In 1642, it moved to a permanent stone building in the upper town. She worked zealously at educating French and Aboriginal girls, wrote numerous theological and spiritual treatises, an Iroquois catechism and Algonquian and Iroquois dictionaries (see Aboriginal Languages), and kept abreast of public affairs. Although cloistered, she received many notable visitors at her monastery. CanonizationIn 1980, Marie de l’Incarnation, François de Laval, and Jose de Anchieta (the “Apostle of Brazil”) were officially declared “Blessed” by Pope John Paul II (this process is known as beatification and is often a step towards canonization, or the declaration of sainthood). On 3 April 2014, Pope Francis declared all three saints, using a process known as “equivalent canonization,” which does not require the verification of miracles made through the saint’s intervention. The canonization was celebrated on 12 October 2014 during the Thanksgiving mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, Archbishop of Québec, led a delegation from Québec which attended the ceremony.Text : Catholic Encyclopedia

Pope Francis arrives for a special Holy Year audience with the armed forces, calling all to 'be reconciled to God' - ANSA

30/04/2016 10:59

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday held an extraordinary Jubilee Audience in St. Peter’s Square for thousands of eager pilgrims. The Audience also celebrated the Jubilee for members of the police and armed forces.

The Holy Father focused in his catechesis on a very important point of mercy: reconciliation, taking the apostle St. Paul’s words in the second letter to the Corinthians 5:20-21 as his guide: “So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”

Listen to Devin Watkins' report:

Pope Francis said St. Paul’s words ‘be reconciled to God’ are an invitation for all Christians, especially in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. He said God constantly offers us his forgiveness, and our sins can never keep us from God’s mercy.

“Often we believe our sins push God away from us: in reality, by sinning we push ourselves away from Him, but He, seeing us in danger, keeps searching for us. God never accepts the possibility that someone could remain estranged from His love, as long as He finds in that person some sign of contrition for the evil committed.”

The Holy Father went on to say that, in our sinfulness, we can only return to God by freely accepting his grace. For this, he has given us his Son Jesus, whose cross is a bridge leading us back to the Father.

“The sinner sees only himself and thus pretends to be self-sufficient; for this reason, sin distances us ever more from God, and this can become a barrier. However, Jesus comes to look for us like a good shepherd who is not content until he has not found the lost sheep (cf. Luke 15:4-6). He rebuilds the bridge which connects us to the Father and allows us to rediscover our dignity as sons and daughters. With the offer of his life, he has reconciled us to the Father and given us the gift of eternal life (cf. John 10:15). ‘Be reconciled to God!”

Reconciliation brings peace and contributes to society

He said this Holy Year of Mercy is a time for each of us to accept this offer of reconciliation and, in our communities, to bring it to the world around us. Being reconciled with God not only brings inner healing and peace, but also impels us to work for reconciliation within society at every level, and thus contribute to the building of a global culture of peace, justice and solidarity.

“Let us accept, therefore, the invitation to be reconciled to God to become new creatures and to be able to radiate His mercy among our brothers and sisters.”

After the audience Pope Francis offered a special welcome to the members of the armed forces and police from throughout the world, especially those present at the audience from Canada, Kenya, Korea, the Philippines, and the United States of America.

As Aleppo comes under attack, with hundreds of dead and wounded, Caritas Syria aid crucial

At least 202 people have been killed over the past week in Syria’s northern metropolis, including civilians (and many children). A MSF-supported hospital in a rebel-held area and two under government control are hit. “People are scared," but they "still want to stay,” according to Caritas Aleppo. The latter’s operatives visit hospitals to "respond to emergencies."

Aleppo (AsiaNews) – Aleppo is "under attack". Many parts of the city “have been shelled and bombed”. Two bombs have hit an area “under government control” where "the Caritas headquarters and my house” are located, said Joseph Yeghia, head of communication for Caritas Aleppo.

Speaking to AsiaNews, the Catholic charity official confirmed that the “capital” of northern Syria is going through an escalation of violence. According to the latest estimates by the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has an extensive network of contacts on the ground, at least 202 people were killed in the past week.

Government and rebels have blamed each other for violating the truce by carrying out air raids and shelling civilians. UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura warned that the ceasefire agreed a few weeks ago is now "barely alive".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on both the United States and Russia to exert pressure to stop the violence.

The upsurge in violence is centred in northern Syria, in Aleppo province whose main city, Aleppo proper, is the country’s second largest urban area, and is currently divided between a western sector under government control and an eastern part, which is in rebel hands.

The renewed violence has endangered the fragile ceasefire in force since 27 February, which has improved the humanitarian situation and raised hopes for a quick end to the hostilities.

Local witnesses said that rebel shelling into government-held areas killed 71 civilians, including 13 children. Government air raids have killed 123 people, including 18 children.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said the al-Quds hospital, which is in a rebel-held area, was also hit, and some of the city’s last paediatricians killed.

The spiral of violence and terror continues to tear Syria apart. Since March 2011, at least 270,000 people have died and millions have been displaced, creating an unprecedented humanitarian emergency.

Aleppo is one of the most affected areas as Jihadi groups like the Islamic State and the al Qaeda-affiliated al Nusra Front are fighting other rebel groups as well as government soldiers. Civilians are the main casualties in this fight without quarter.

In a press release, Caritas Syria reports that in the last few days more than 1,300 mortar shells fell on the city, hitting various neighbourhoods in violation of the truce.

The city’s hospitals are on the verge of collapse as the number of wounded rises and medical, blood and other supplies dwindle. Deprivation is widespread.

Lorries and other vehicles run along city streets "full of wounded, many of them children" and the horizon is "obscured by a thick blanket of black smoke”. The “sound of ambulances is nonstop."

“Violence, attacks, and bombs are everywhere in the city," Joseph Yeghia told AsiaNews. “People are scared," and yet they "want to stay and get on with their lives. There is hope to live here; no one wants to leave."

“We Caritas activists visit hospitals, and collect information to see how we can help, heal the wounded, and respond to emergencies,” the Caritas official explained. However, "We do not know the exact number of dead and wounded. Not even hospitals have a precise idea."

In addition to the MSF-supported hospital hit in a rebel-held area, two hospitals in a part of the city controlled by the government were also shelled, Yeghia said. “It is unclear which wards were affected.”

"We just want peace for our country, Syria,” the Caritas official said, “because we cannot go on living like this after five years. We call [on the international community] for an end to the war.”

Addressing western Christians, he said, “We ask you to pray for us. We only need your prayers. All we want is for God to grant us peace. Shared from Asia News IT

Born at Bosco, near Alexandria, Lombardy, 17 Jan., 1504 elected 7 Jan., 1566; died 1 May, 1572. Being of a poor though noble family his lot would have been to follow a trade, but he was taken in by the Dominicans of Voghera, where he received a good education and was trained in the way of solid and austere piety. He entered the order, was ordained in 1528, and taught theology and philosophy for sixteen years. In the meantime he was master of novices and was on several occasions elected prior of different houses of his order in which he strove to develop the practice of the monastic virtues and spread the spirit of the holy founder. He himself was an example to all. He fasted, did penance, passed long hours of the night in meditation and prayer, traveled on foot without a cloak in deep silence, or only speaking to his companions of the things of God. In 1556 he was made Bishop of Sutri by Paul IV. His zeal against heresy caused him to be selected as inquisitor of the faith in Milan and Lombardy, and in 1557 Paul II made him a cardinal and named him inquisitor general for all Christendom. In 1559 he was transferred to Mondovì, where he restored the purity of faith and discipline, gravely impaired by the wars of Piedmont. Frequently called to Rome, he displayed his unflinching zeal in all the affairs on which he was consulted. Thus he offered an insurmountable opposition to Pius IV when the latter wished to admit Ferdinand de' Medici, then only thirteen years old, into the Sacred College. Again it was he who defeated the project of Maximilian II, Emperor of Germany, to abolish ecclesiastical celibacy. On the death of Pius IV, he was, despite his tears and entreaties, elected pope, to the great joy of the whole Church.

He began his pontificate by giving large alms to the poor, instead of distributing his bounty at haphazard like his predecessors. As pontiff he practiced the virtues he had displayed as a monk and a bishop. His piety was not diminished, and, in spite of the heavy labours and anxieties of his office, he made at least two meditations a day on bended knees in presence of the Blessed Sacrament. In his charity he visited the hospitals, and sat by the bedside of the sick, consoling them and preparing them to die. He washed the feet of the poor, and embraced the lepers. It is related that an English nobleman was converted on seeing him kiss the feet of a beggar covered with ulcers. He was very austere and banished luxury from his court, raised the standard of morality, laboured with his intimate friend, St. Charles Borromeo, to reform the clergy, obliged his bishops to reside in their dioceses, and the cardinals to lead lives of simplicity and piety. He diminished public scandals by relegating prostitutes to distant quarters, and he forbade bull fights. He enforced the observance of the discipline of the Council of Trent, reformed the Cistercians, and supported the missions of the New World. In the Bull "In Coena Domini" he proclaimed the traditional principles of the Roman Church and the supremacy of the Holy See over the civil power.

But the great thought and the constant preoccupation of his pontificate seems to have been the struggle against the Protestants and the Turks. In Germany he supported the Catholics oppressed by the heretical princes. In France he encouraged the League by his counsels and with pecuniary aid. In the Low Countries he supported Spain. In England, finally, he excommunicated Elizabeth, embraced the cause of Mary Stuart, and wrote to console her in prison. In the ardour of his faith he did not hesitate to display severity against the dissidents when necessary, and to give a new impulse to the activity of the Inquisition, for which he has been blamed by certain historians who have exaggerated his conduct. Despite all representations on his behalf he condemned the writings of Baius, who ended by submitting.

He worked incessantly to unite the Christian princes against the hereditary enemy, the Turks. In the first year of his pontificate he had ordered a solemn jubilee, exhorting the faithful to penance and almsgiving to obtain the victory from God. He supported the Knights of Malta, sent money for the fortification of the free towns of Italy, furnished monthly contributions to the Christians of Hungary, and endeavoured especially to bring Maximilian, Philip II, and Charles I together for the defence of Christendom. In 1567 for the same purpose he collected from all convents one-tenth of their revenues. In 1570 when Solyman II attacked Cyprus, threatening all Christianity in the West, he never rested till he united the forces of Venice, Spain, and the Holy See. He sent his blessing to Don John of Austria, the commander-in-chief of the expedition, recommending him to leave behind all soldiers of evil life, and promising him the victory if he did so. He ordered public prayers, and increased his own supplications to heaven. On the day of the Battle of Lepanto, 7 Oct., 1571, he was working with the cardinals, when, suddenly, interrupting his work opening the window and looking at the sky, he cried out, "A truce to business; our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Christian army". He burst into tears when he heard of the victory, which dealt the Turkish power a blow from which it never recovered. In memory of this triumph he instituted for the first Sunday of October the feast of the Rosary, and added to the Litany of Loreto the supplication "Help of Christians". He was hoping to put an end to the power of Islam by forming a general alliance of the Italian cities Poland, France, and all Christian Europe, and had begun negotiations for this purpose when he died of gravel, repeating "O Lord, increase my sufferings and my patience!" He left the memory of a rare virtue and an unfailing and inflexible integrity. He was beatified by Clement X in 1672, and canonized by Clement XI in 1712.(Taken From Catholic Encyclopedia)